In a likely leg up to India's efforts to increase connectivity with Afghanistan and Central Asia, Japan for the first time has officially suggested that it could consider partnering India in developing the Chabahar port project in Iran.

| TNN | Updated: Sep 8, 2016, 07:54 IST

Highlights

Japan foreign ministry said it willconsider partnering India in developing the Chabahar port in Iran

Japan is said to be considering building an industrial complex in Chabahar

A partial view of the Chabahar port on the coast of Sistan-Baluchistan in southeastern Iran. (AFP/Getty Images photo)

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NEW DELHI: In a likely leg up to India's efforts to increase connectivity with Afghanistan and Central Asia, Japan for the first time has officially suggested that it could consider partnering India in developing the Chabahar port project in Iran.
In an exclusive interaction with
TOI, Japan foreign ministry said it will positively consider any proposal to improve connectivity in the region. India signed a tripartite agreement this year with Iran and Afghanistan hoping to develop the Chabahar port into a transit hub which would help them bypass Pakistan. India has committed $500 million for development of the port, seen as a counterweight to China's Gwadar port in Pakistan.

"In principle, we are interested in improving connectivity. If there is some proposal for improving connectivity from Iran to Central Asia and Afghanistan, we may think positively," said Masayuki Taga, senior regional coordinator with Japan foreign ministry's southwest division. He added though that there was no confirmation about "any concrete project" yet.

Significantly, the official said Japan's efforts to improve connectivity didn't necessarily have to remain confined to India's northeast and could expand to the region beyond India's western border.

The official was referring to Japan's ODA loans to India for improving road connectivity network in northeastern states.

The official also recalled the joint statement issued by the two countries after the visit of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last year in December which had said that he and his counterpart Narendra Modi had decided to develop and strengthen "reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures that augment connectivity within India and between India and other countries in the region".

Any involvement of Japan in the Chabahar port project will come as a shot in the arm for India amid renewed talk about strategic encirclement of India by China.

As the December 2015 joint statement said, India and Japan have a high degree of congruence of political, economic and strategic interests and view each other as partners "that have responsibility for and are capable of responding to global and regional challenges".

Japan is said to be considering building an industrial complex in Chabahar which, according to strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney, will be a win-win initiative for both countries.

According to Brahma Chellaney, Chabahar has greater potential than Gwadar to emerge as a key shipping hub. An India-Japan partnership on Chabahar will help counter the strategic significance of the expanding Chinese footprint in Gwadar, he said.

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